So Jackie Estacado is now the Don of the crime family. He hasn't used his Darkness powers for two years, then he is suddenly attacked by a group unknown to him simply called, The Brotherhood. Seems Jackie is in need of his demonic friends once again, setting the stage for The Darkness II.
The first thing I noticed when watching the live demonstration of The Darkness II was the art style. All the textures have been hand-painted and given high-contrast, super-saturated lighting to make it feel like you're playing through a graphic novel. Keep in mind The Darkness has its roots in comic, the creation of Top Cow superstar Marc Silvestri. This new art style give it a vibrant feel, a welcome contrast to the dark story and characters. The demo took place in a carnival, which really showed off this vibrant new style.
As far as combat is concerned, The Darkness II introduces a new quad-wielding system. Jackie has his two Darkness arms. One is for grabbing while the other is for slashing. He can also dual-wield guns and can use all four weapons at the same time. This makes for dynamic first-person combat with loads of different ways to rip, tear, shoot, impale, and generally decimate your opponents.
Speaking of opponents, let's talk about The Brotherhood. These is a collection of new enemy types that are out to steal The Darkness from Jackie and use it for their own nefarious means. To this end, they are well-educated in The Darkness and how to combat it. They use light against Jackie, since the Darkness powers receed in the light. Jackie had to knock out light sources in the first game, but now they're being used against you, sort of like a reverse Alan Wake.
The demonstration was short but brutal. It really looks like this is one of those sequels that takes everything good from the first game that was already considered pretty good and runs with it. It then adds a host of new, awesome features that will make The Darkness II stand head and shoulders above its predecessor.
